Title

Out of Gluten-free, Sugar-free or Regular Cookies, Which Do Tasters Prefer?

Broad Question

Do gluten-free or sugar-free cookies taste any different than regular, and which taste better?

Specific Question

Out of gluten-free, sugar-free or regular cookies, which do tasters prefer?

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that the tasters will prefer regular cookies over sugar-free or gluten-free. It is hypothesized this way because generally people prefer regular anything, not just cookies.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Type of cookie (gluten-free, sugar-free, regular)

Dependent Variable:

Scores of cookies

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

how long cookies were in oven, temperature of oven

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

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General Plan

Potential Problems And Solutions

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

• getting burned- to avoid being burnt, wear oven mitts while taking the cookies out of the oven.
• choking- if a student started choking on the cookies, a teacher would have given them the Heimlich maneuver.

Experimental Design

(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table

Supplies:	Store:	Cost:
+5 cups of peanut butter	Walmart	1 (26.6 oz) @ $4.36, 2 @ $ 8.72
3 cups white sugar	Walmart	1 (4 lbs) @ $3.36
1 cup brown sugar	Walmart	1 (14 oz) @ $1.69
a dozen eggs		*
1 egg white	Walmart	store pricing may vary
2 cups no-calorie sucralose sweetner	Walmart	1 (3.8 oz) @ $3.74
1 teaspoon vanilla extract		*
1 cup all-purpose flour	Walmart	1 (5 lb.) @ $4.98
1 teaspoon baking soda		*
1 teaspoon salt		*
container		*
oven		*
cookie sheet		*
mixing bowl		*
mixing spoon		*
plastic wrap		*
knife		*
non-stick cooking spray		*
paper plates		*
fork		*
wire racks		*
Total cost:		+$22.49

Data Table

Time Line

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Background Research

References

Detailed Procedure

Diagram

Photo List

• supplies
• gluten-free batter
• gluten-free cookie dough in balls
• gluten-free cookie dough in balls, forked
• gluten-free cookies
• sugar-free batter
• sugar-free cookie dough in balls
• sugar-free cookie dough in balls, forked
• sugar-free cookies
• regular dry batter
• regular wet batter
• regular wet and dry batter combined
• regular cookie dough in balls
• regular cookies
• 6 pictures of students tasting cookies
• Cookie A (regular)
• Cookie B (sugar-free)
• Cookie C (gluten-free)
• picture of scoring sheet
• picture of scores being counted

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Results

All Raw Data:

Participants favored gluten-free cookies, with regular cookies being the least favorite. Participants rated the cookies on a scale of 1 to 3, 1 being bad, 2 being okay, and 3 being great. The average cookie rating for regular cookies was 1.7, the average for sugar-free was 2, and gluten-free was 2.1.

Graphs:

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Photos

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Data Analysis

Conclusion

In this experiment seven participants tasted gluten-free, sugar-free and regular peanut butter cookies. The purpose of this experiment was to find out whether testers preferred gluten-free, sugar-free or regular cookies. It was discovered that participants prefer gluten-free cookies.

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Discussion

This science fair project experiment had the question of: “Out of gluten-free, sugar-free, or regular cookies, which do tasters prefer?” The answer was that tasters preferred gluten-free cookies. In fact, 43% of tasters rated gluten-free the highest, while only 29% of tasters preferred regular and sugar-free each. A hypothesis was stated that tasters would favor regular cookies. The results of this experiment can be explained through research and other experiments, not necessarily about cookies, but gluten-free vs. regular foods. The patterns in the data for this experiment are very strong. Tasters rated the cookies on a scale of 1 to 3, 1 being bad, 2 being okay and 3 being great. Sugar-free and gluten-free have the same data, except that there is one more “3” for gluten-free, and one more “2” for sugar-free. Originally, this design had a 1-10 scale, but it was pointed out that maybe a “6” to someone would be the same as a “7” to someone else. The design was fixed, and there were no more problems, even in the experiment. The only thing that should have been done to improve the experiment was to get more tasters.
The technology used to conduct this experiment was Google Docs, but not much information was used beforehand. The information learned through this process could help people in the future making cookies, and they want to make the best kind possible. And if someone had gluten allergies, the person baking wouldn’t have to make a regular batch and a gluten-free batch. This information gained could help someone in the future learning about this topic, maybe also in a science fair.

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine whether tasters preferred gluten-free, sugar-free or regular cookies. It was hypothesized that regular cookies would be preferred. Trials were conducted and it was discovered that participants prefer gluten-free cookies. In this experiment, some JBES seventh graders tasted regular, gluten-free and sugar-free cookies, then rated the cookies on a scale of 1-3, 1 being bad, 2 being okay and 3 being good. The added-up totals of their scores were then averaged, and gluten-free had an averaged score of 2.1, sugar-free had a score of 2 and regular had a score of 1.7.